“If anyone can win this war, it’s the Jewish moms out there! We have that power.”
Mushka Lipskier, Chabad shlucha at Tulane University, shared these words in a moving interview with Chana Weisberg, noted author and editor of TheJewishWoman.org. Lipskier was referencing the fact that concerned Jewish mothers around the United States began a Facebook group called “Mothers against antisemitism on campus.” The response was tremendous, and within hours, 37,000 Jewish moms had joined the group, wanting to make a positive difference.
Indeed, we are seeing a surge of feminine strength and resilience during these trying days for Israel and world Jewry. In our Jerusalem community, I am blown away by the acts of heroism and self-sacrifice that I am witnessing firsthand.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose 23-year-old son Hersh has been held captive by Hamas for over 60 days now, lives in our neighborhood and has become a dear friend. The acute pain and uncertainty that she and her family have been experiencing for over two months now is unimaginable, with their son in the hands of vicious terrorists and his fate and well-being completely unknown. Yet Rachel maintains her faith and tenacious spirit, continuously amazing me with her new and creative endeavors to help her injured son and the other hostages. From being a relatively private mother and teacher, Rachel has become a famous orator and communicator. She is well-known for her eloquent speech at the U.N. and at the Washington rally for Israel with 300,000 participants. She also visited the Pope in Rome and investor Elon Musk, amongst many other individuals and organizations. Every word she says is like a pointed arrow of truth, delivered with composure and elegance, coming from her heart, and entering straight into ours.
Recently, Rachel joined a challah bake for the women in our Chabad of Baka community, where she was honored to make the blessing of hafrashas challah. This is one of the unique mitzvos of Jewish women, where we separate a piece of dough to be sanctified, acknowledging that all we have is a gift from G-d. Rachel warmly thanked the women in our community, who have become spiritual lobbyists on Hersh’s behalf. “You are doing the real work,” she said. “What we are doing is just scratching the surface, so we know that we tried everything possible. But the spiritual work that you are doing – your prayers and good deeds – are really making the difference.”
Most of participants at that same challah baking event have family members serving in the IDF. Judith and Esther both shared that their sons are in Gaza, and they haven’t seen them in many weeks. Shira, another friend, is a proud mother of five sons currently serving in the IDF. She continues to smile and lives by the Chassidic motto, “Think good, and it will be good!”
I am in awe of these mothers and of my friends who are wives of reservists, anxiously praying for their husbands’ welfare. These superwomen are juggling the myriad tasks of managing a job, caring for their children, and running a household on their own. They long to embrace their loved ones and to know that they are safely home. Yet they recognize the importance of serving our nation and protecting our land, and they propel themselves forward with faith and positivity.
Let’s not forget the many women who are serving in the IDF or as first responders, putting their lives on the line to save others. One such heroine comes to mind – Sgt. Rose Elisheva Ida Lubin Hy”d, a lone soldier from Atlanta who served as a border police officer in the Old City of Jerusalem. On November 6, she was brutally stabbed to death by a 16-year-old Palestinian terrorist while protecting Israeli citizens near Herod’s Gate. I was honored and humbled to be amongst the 15,000 participants at her funeral at Har Herzl, where we partook in a farewell ceremony that felt larger than life. Most of us had never met Rose, but we traveled from different neighborhoods and cities to Israel’s national cemetery to pay our last respects to a brave young woman who defended our people until her last breath. She prevented others from being injured on November 6, and she helped protect Kibbutz Sa’ad near the Gaza border during Hamas’s brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7.
Rose’s father, David Lubin, shared that at the young age of five, Rose would tell children at the playground in Atlanta, “We can be friends now, but when I’m 18 years old, I will be moving to Israel and joining the army there.” Indeed, after graduating from high school, Rose made aliyah and joined the Border Police as a lone soldier in March 2022. She was extremely proud to have this fundamental role in the IDF and chose one of the most challenging locations, the Old City of Jerusalem near the Arab quarter.
At a speech that she gave while being honored at a dinner in Atlanta this past May, Rose shared, “Our ancestors, dying in the Holocaust, could never have imagined reaching Jerusalem, and I am able to walk through the Old City and help protect it.” She thanked her parents for being the true heroes for supporting her and allowing her to fulfill her daring dreams.
The number of volunteer initiatives that have been spearheaded by women during this current war are too many to count. Meals for army bases, reservist families, and evacuees, massive deliveries of handmade tzitzit for our IDF soldiers, gifts and activities for displaced children, support for bereaved families, and so many other creative chesed projects are being tirelessly organized and directed by Jewish women.
Chana Cohen Alloro is a comedian from the south who spoke at the huge Tzama inspirational musical event at Jerusalem’s convention hall on Thursday, November 30. Chana shared that there were female designers from around Israel who sent truckloads of dresses, pretty head-coverings, jewelry, and shoes for the evacuees staying at different hotels. “You can’t imagine our feeling of joy in being beautifully outfitted, after fleeing from our homes with the shirts on our backs. Our matriarchs in Heaven must be so proud of their daughters, who are adorning each other with sisterhood and love.”
Israel’s name for the current operation to defend our land and our people is “Operation Iron Swords.” In Hebrew, the word charbot, swords, shares the same root as chaveirut, which means friendship and unity. And the word for iron, barzel, is an acronym for the four mothers who birthed the tribes of Israel: Bilhah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Leah. Indeed, it is the sisterhood and iron strength of Jewish women around the globe which empowers Am Yisrael and which will ultimately bring our victory and redemption. As we are taught, “In the merit of righteous women we were redeemed from Egypt, and in the merit of righteous women we will be redeemed from the final exile.” We pray to Hashem that we be able to experience present-day miracles in the merit of our matriarchs and ancestors – and the righteous Jewish women of today.
